# Is "Heidi" by Johanna Spyri; translated by Louise Brooks a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Heidi by Johanna Spyri; translated by Louise Brooks (DeWolfe, Fiske & Co., 1884) is identified by: Louise Winsor Brooks's translation, titled Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning -- A Story for Children and Those Who Love Children, was published in Boston by DeWolfe, Fiske & Co. Translated from German.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Louise Winsor Brooks's translation, titled Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning -- A Story for Children and Those Who Love Children, was published in Boston by DeWolfe, Fiske & Co. in 1884 and copyrighted that year in Brooks's own name rather than the publisher's, unusual for the period
- It combined both halves of Spyri's originally separately published Swiss-German novel (Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre, 1880, and its 1881 sequel) into a single translated English text and is generally treated as the first American translation of the book
- Brooks was one of at least thirteen translators to render Heidi into English between 1882 and 1959, so the specific title wording together with the DeWolfe, Fiske Boston imprint and 1884 copyright date are what identify this particular first edition rather than a later reprint or a competing translator's version
- Publisher imprint reads DeWolfe, Fiske & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Johanna Spyri; translated by Louise Brooks |
| Publisher | DeWolfe, Fiske & Co. |
| Year | 1884 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | Louise Winsor Brooks's translation, titled Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning -- A Story for Children and Those Who Love Children… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Louise Winsor Brooks's translation, titled Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning -- A Story for Children and Those Who Love Children, was published in Boston by DeWolfe, Fiske & Co. in 1884 and copyrighted that year in Brooks's own name rather than the publisher's, unusual for the period. It combined both halves of Spyri's originally separately published Swiss-German novel (Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre, 1880, and its 1881 sequel) into a single translated English text and is generally treated as the first American translation of the book. Brooks was one of at least thirteen translators to render Heidi into English between 1882 and 1959, so the specific title wording together with the DeWolfe, Fiske Boston imprint and 1884 copyright date are what identify this particular first edition rather than a later reprint or a competing translator's version.

## Is this the true first?
Translated from German. Brooks's is the first American translation and the first to unite both German volumes into a single English text, but it is not the earliest English rendering: an anonymous translation was issued in London by W. Swan Sonnenschein in two separate volumes, Heidi's Early Experiences (c.1882) and Heidi's Further Experiences (c.1884), split across two English volumes rather than combined and predating Brooks by roughly two years. The Sonnenschein volumes are extremely scarce and their translator has never been identified.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Brooks translation was itself reissued under other Boston imprints, including Cupples, Upham & Co. in 1885-86, and was soon followed by competing re-translations from other publishers; most Heidi copies found today are one of these later reprints or an entirely different translator's version, not the 1884 DeWolfe, Fiske first-edition text, copyright date, and imprint.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Heidi* by Johanna Spyri; translated by Louise Brooks a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/heidi
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.